The Government of Kenya and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have set aside KSh3.2 billion to fight the second wave of the desert locusts invasion in the country.
According to Agriculture CS, Peter Munya, they project the second wave will hit the country by mid-December. Already, the ministry has sent more NYS personnel to conduct ground and aerial spraying using 216,000 litres of pesticide.
In April this year, the World Bank gave Kenya a KSh4.5 billion loan to help in the fight against the locusts, to be repaid in 30 years, with a 5-year grace period.
The AfDB (The African Development Bank) also approved a $1.5 million (KSh160.5 million) emergency relief grant to IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) towards fighting off the locusts’ invasion in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The government of Japan also contributed a $7.5 million (KSh802.5 million) package to the World Food Programme (WFP), towards fighting the locusts outbreak in Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti.
The IGAD warns that the infestation poses an unprecedented risk to livelihoods and food security in an already fragile region and has caused massive damage to agricultural production.
The desert locust is considered the most dangerous migratory pest in the world. Its current upsurge, which started in 2019, is the worst in 25 years in Somalia and Ethiopia, and the worst in 70 years in Kenya.
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